The
agency that oversees the receipt and investment of private contributions
to The University of North Carolina at Pembroke installed new leadership
for 2007-08.

The UNCP Foundation, Inc., is a private non-profit
corporation that is guided by a board of directors. The mission of the
board is to provide direction for the University’s fundraising efforts
while accepting and administering the full range of private contributions.

The Foundation has seen considerable growth of its endowment
in the new millennium, from investments valued at $3.7 million in 2000
to an estimated $10.2 million at the close of the 2006-07 fiscal
year. Indeed, last
year's gain of 32 percent represents one of the most successful since the Foundation began
in 1968.

Robin Cummings

The Executive Committee for 2007-08 will be led by Dr. Robin
Cummings, a retired cardiothoracic surgeon from Pinehurst, N.C., who
will also serve as chair of the 15-person board.

“I am very excited about the future of the Foundation.
Reaching the $10 million mark is a very real milestone,” Dr.
Cummings said. “The goal of the board now is
to position the Foundation to continue to grow, not only financially, but
as well in its role of assisting the University to grow and live out
its purpose for our students, faculty, administration and its community,
both near and far.”

Chancellor Allen C. Meadors praised the work of the Foundation and its leaders.

“In my eight years at UNCP, I've had the pleasure of watching the
UNCP Foundation make an increasingly meaningful mark on this institution,” Chancellor
Meadors said. “We are fortunate to have such committed board members
who have taken a very personal interest in the Foundation's growth.”

Robin and Rebecca Cummings

Active in business and real estate development, Dr. Cummings
and his wife, Rebecca, are Pembroke natives and members of UNCP’s Chancellor’s
Club, an elite group of donors. He has served on the boards of the Foundation
and Endowment for several years, and she is a past member of the Executive
Committee of the Chancellor’s Club.

As Foundation Chair, Dr. Cummings’ first task is
to assemble its directors.

“We are putting yet another very dedicated and committed
board
together,” he said. “The Foundation will be asking a lot of our
members with the goal of having an active, informed, involved group,
dedicated to UNC Pembroke and its success in every facet.”

Dr. Cummings outlined his mission for the Foundation.

“We owe it to those who have trusted us with their support, financially
and otherwise, to be the very best stewards of their gifts,” he said. “We
will be totally transparent in how we conduct business, and we will
work to manage foundation monies within the interests of the University
and our patrons.

“Of course, we will continue establishing relationships with those
who want to join in the vision at UNCP,” he continued. “And
we are always eager to hear of any suggestions as to how we can do
things better.”

Dr. Cummings said he is honored to lead the Foundation, and he plans an
active board of directors with several important informational meetings planned
in the near future.

“Our University is really growing and the next few
years will have long-term implications in so many areas. It is important
everyone works together, as much as possible, to move our vision forward,” he
said. “I would like to see serving on the Foundation board to
be one of the greatest civic or community opportunities available in
Robeson County with a reputation of asking its members to work hard
for the honor.”

Dr. Cummings will be joined by Vice Chair Gene Hall, a
Lumberton, N.C., insurance representative and 1971 graduate, and Secretary
Mac Campbell, an Elizabethtown, N.C., businessman. The incoming class
of directors continues the tradition
of attracting talented individuals to serve, and consists of some of
UNCP’s most steadfast supporters.

The new members of the board of directors include:

Howard Brooks is a 1963 UNCP graduate. He is a pharmacist
and founder of Healthkeeperz, a regional healthcare business with
approximately 400 employees In 2005, Brooks established an endowed
professorship in UNCP’s Nursing Department. He is
a lifetime member of the Chancellor’s Club.

Mac Campbell is
a 1968 UNCP graduate and owner of Campbell Oil and Gas. He is
past president of the Braves Club and is a member of the North
Carolina Board of Transportation. Campbell is a former member of
UNCP’s
Board of Trustees. Sylvia and Mac Campbell Wellness Center in the
Jones Athletic Center is named in their honor.

Sammy Cox Jr. is a
1976 UNCP graduate and a Lumberton businessman. Cox has a 30-year
relationship with the University, and the Cox Baseball Field is named
for him and his wife, Onita.

Lucille Locklear is a business development
officer and assistant vice president of First Bank. The Chancellor’s
Box at the new football stadium will bear the bank’s name.

Henry Lewis, a Lumberton, N.C., CPA and 1973 UNCP graduate, chaired the
Foundation for the past four years and helped direct its growing endowment
and its investment portfolio.

“The Foundation is on solid ground and in position to grow,” Lewis
said. “The past few years have been a period of tremendous activity.”

The Foundation’s investments have grown, including
its holdings in campus properties. University Courtyard Apartments,
University Village Apartments, Bob Caton Fieldhouse and Oak Residence
Hall are owned by the Foundation.

“The Foundation’s success is due to the efforts
of a lot of people beginning with Chancellor Meadors and the Investment
Committee, which included Joe Sandlin (retired Lumberton banker) Larry
Chavis (president of Lumbee Guarantee Bank), Neil Hawk (UNCP’s vice chancellor
for Business Affairs) and me,” Lewis added. “There has been
a major change in direction.”

Board members who will continue to serve include Lewis;
Darrell Johnson, a 1969 graduate and Wilmington, N.C., real estate
broker; Glenn Walters of Security Savings Bank in Whiteville, N.C.;
Alvin Ivey, general manager of Bleecker GMC and Buick of Red Springs,
N.C.; Bobbie Ghaffar, a 1993 graduate and owner of Native Angels
Homecare and Hospice of Pembroke; Dick Taylor, a Lumberton insurance
agent who represents the UNCP Board of Trustees; Cammie Hunt-Oxendine,
assistant dean of the School of Business; Jason Bentzler, a 1996
graduate and president of the UNCP Alumni Association; and Chancellor
Meadors.